They Didn't Even Eat The Cake!!! I'm Having A Moan....

Decorating By jennifercullen Updated 11 Jan 2012 , 3:07pm by cocobean

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jennifercullen Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 11:55am
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I made a cake for my step mothers neice's birthday, it was a couple of months ago now actually, it was a 3d tatty teddy bear, (this one actually http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2145716/tatty-teddy-birthday-cake) and was a bit of a last minute thing, she asked me for it on a saturday for a monday. I had nothing on and not liking to say no to people I said I would do the cake. I ran out to get some ingredients, I spent ages baking and carving. and went out to buy some plastic pipe to use as a centre dowel to hold it all up, then I spent hours and hours piping each individual 'hair' thing with buttercream, I stressed that the head wasnt going to hold, I stressed that it wasnt going to last the car journey there etc etc etc it was a lot of hard work I felt on my part! I only found out a couple of days ago that they didnt even eat the cake, because they couldnt bring themselves to cut it, and I only found this out because they had had a bit of another cake I made and said it tasted gorgeous, so I asked if the teddy one wasnt as nice. I dont know how it would be easier to throw away a cake than cut into it to eat it! I only charged them £20 for my ingredients because thats what I do most of the time for family I feel like I just wasted my time. I could have taken the £20 and bought a teddy and put it on a cake board, and that would have been quicker than buying my ingredients! Its still playing on my mind a bit because its annoyed me lol. It may sound pathetic, but if you are going to have someone work for hours on a cake, you should at least eat it!! maybe if they had paid a proper price from somewhere for it they would have reconsidered....

35 replies
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melanie-1221 Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 12:54pm
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I have had this happen too, the client thought the cake was too cute or too nice and they didn't want to cut it. I always tell people to just take a photo and eat the cake. That doesn't work sometimes though. Take comfort in the fact they thought your work was too nice to cut into, it's a compliment. Sometimes people think they are destroying your artwork and feel bad about it. I have a couple friends I have done cakes for tell me they felt guilty destroying the cake they knew I spent countless hours baking. My best friend let one sit on the counter for weeks because she enjoyed looking at it. ~I sent her flowers instead of a cake this year icon_wink.gif
Try not to let it upset you too much, I looked at the cake and you did a fantastic job , I'm sure they were more than pleased..so pleased they didn't want to destroy it icon_smile.gif

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BlakesCakes Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 1:10pm
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I can't get upset about what people do, or don't do, with a cake that I've made.

If they eat it, I'd like to hear from them about their experience. If they choose to just admire it, so be it.

Once I hand it off, it's theirs..............

Rae

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myslady Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 1:14pm
post #4 of 36

I agree. In this case I think that is one of the highest compliments a person can give you. They are probably kicking themselves for not enjoying the other cake.

Great job!!

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myslady Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 1:15pm
post #5 of 36

I agree. In this case I think that is one of the highest compliments a person can give you. They are probably kicking themselves for not enjoying the other cake.

Great job!!

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Jennifer353 Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 1:23pm
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Noncake people have an odd idea that cake that is too pretty shouldn't be eaten. As a decorator I think if I have gone to the effort of making it edible then it's wasting that effort to not eat it. Photograph it first, absolutely, but then cut, eat and enjoy it!
At Christmas my mum made a fruit cake I was going to decorate as our "official" Christmas cake and had another half cake she was going to keep uniced as spare (more complicated story than that but that's a summary!).
I decided to try using lights on a cake for the first time and built a church from sugar blocks, I could only do a few rows at a time to let the icing set so I did it over a few days. My parents and sister were there and saw me working on it and by the time I had finished decorating it my mum and sister decided that I had put so much work into it that they couldn't cut it and that they would have to ice the spare cake and we would just look at the one I decorated! My sister did acknowledge that they would have more problem cutting it than I would.
Luckily since it was fruit cake it was perfectly fine for us to look at it for a week and before I left for New Year we did cut it so I could bring some back home with me and the other cake was gone.

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mmmmmmmmcake1954 Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 1:26pm
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Jennifer, I had the same happen with a Snow White cake I made for a friend's grand-daughter's sixth birthday, the little girl would not let her mother cut the cake, she wanted to keep it - she had 30 children at her birthday party and would not let them have a piece, the mother had to give them a piece of a cake made by her other grandmother! At first I was a bit put out that the mother did not insist on cutting the cake, but after speaking with my friend (grandmother), she explained that she was just so happy with her cake it had to be set up in her bedroom for her to admire!!! lol - eventually they had to take all the decorations I made off the cake and set them up on a board for her and I think that by then the cake was well past its sellbydate!!! But heyho it was her cake.

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jennifercullen Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 1:46pm
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I never really thought of it in a good light to be honest lol. I do know that once its theirs its up to them what they do with it, but I guess I'm thinking more along the lines of what's the point in taking more time to make something edible if you're not going to eat it? Oh well, I guess I can see it in a more positive light now icon_smile.gif[/center]

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Relznik Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 2:12pm
post #9 of 36

At £20, I doubt you even covered the cost of your ingredients, board and box!!

I'm so sorry they didn't eat your cake... it really IS gorgeous.

Trust me, if you start charging realistic prices, they'll think twice before throwing it away!! icon_wink.gificon_biggrin.gif Nowadays, I give family a better price than normal customers, but if I only covered my ingredients, I'd have no time for orders. I know this sounds mean, but at the end of the day, this is my business.

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jgifford Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 2:29pm
post #10 of 36

I made a small cake for a baby shower (my profile picture, actually) and it's still sitting in the mom's fridge. She wouldn't cut it, but she took a spoonful out of the back so she could taste it. And the baby's 6 weeks old! I have the picture which is what I wanted, so she can keep it as long as she wants and it won't bother me a bit. icon_smile.gif

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ddaigle Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 2:54pm
post #11 of 36

I made my nephew a budlite beer can cake a few years ago and he drove "it" all around town for DAYS showing all his buddies. He would not let anyone cut it. Finally, his mother took it to her work so it would get eaten. It happens!

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Herekittykitty Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 4:15pm
post #12 of 36

My friend can never bring herself to cut the cakes I make for her kids, she always hands me the knife and says "Here, you do it, I can't it's too pretty." LOL. Not a problem for me, if it doesn't taste as good (or better) than it looks then it's not worth the work.

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Spooky_789 Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 6:32pm
post #13 of 36

I get that too, "It's too pretty to cut." I swear, one of these days, I'm going to make a butt-ugly cake and bring it to work. The message on top will be something along the lines of, "I'm ugly, eat me!" lol

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Rosie2 Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 6:33pm
post #14 of 36

I know how you feel...I made christmas cookies for my co-workers last month.They are the vintage cookies in my gallery...came to find out that no one (!) eat the cookies, they still have them at their desks on display!! ----they said they're too pretty icon_sad.gif

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pummy Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 6:53pm
post #15 of 36

Your cake was so nice! Great job!

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Debbye27 Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 7:43pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spooky_789

I get that too, "It's too pretty to cut." I swear, one of these days, I'm going to make a butt-ugly cake and bring it to work. The message on top will be something along the lines of, "I'm ugly, eat me!" lol




That is hilarious!!!!! icon_biggrin.gificon_lol.gificon_eek.gif

Don't worry that they didn't eat it- and you didn't waste your time on it- you made something beautiful, got a great photo to add to your collection, and impressed the guests....so your work is complete!! Definitely not a waste- although annoying....because we all bake and create these masterpieces to be enjoyed!! Some people would rather enjoy with their eyes then mouths I guess...NOT ME THOUGH!!!!

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Ellie1985 Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 8:12pm
post #17 of 36

I just bake for my family and a few close friends. When I take a cake to a get together I always have to cut the cake. If I didn't no one would eat it. They all say it's too pretty to cut. On Christmas Eve I made an igloo/penguin cake and when I went to cut it my sister-in-law said "It's so pretty and I know you put a lot of work into it. How can you bare to cut it"? I said what's the point of making a cake if you aren't going to eat it!! As soon as I started to cut the cake all the kids came running to pick a penguin off to take home!! That makes me happy!!! icon_smile.gif

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Momofjaic Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 8:12pm
post #18 of 36

When my son was 4 he loved Thomas the train I made a hill out of the barbie pan dug a tunnel and put some of the plastic track through and around it stuck a train on the track very simple he would not let us cut it we had thirty people standing around eating Oreos out of the bag!!!! Grandma threw it out the next day. It was fun for him he's 8 now and we still talk about it.

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jgifford Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 8:32pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Momofjaic

When my son was 4 he loved Thomas the train I made a hill out of the barbie pan dug a tunnel and put some of the plastic track through and around it stuck a train on the track very simple he would not let us cut it we had thirty people standing around eating Oreos out of the bag!!!! Grandma threw it out the next day. It was fun for him he's 8 now and we still talk about it.




icon_lol.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gif I can just picture everyone grabbing a handful of oreos. How funny!

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LNW Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 8:44pm
post #20 of 36

Your cake is awesome and I would consider this a VERY nice compliment. It stinks they didn't get to enjoy the taste of the cake as well but whatever, it's their cake.

I've had this happen a few times at family events. When everyone gets started in on that "oh it's too pretty to cut blah blah blah" I grab the butcher's knife and hack into it lol. It's never going to get done unless someone steps up and cuts that sucker up. Then after they get to eating it and realize how awesome it tastes then the fuss over cutting into it is gone. My mom has this lovely picture of me hacking into a baby shower cake I'd made. Iv'e got this HUGE knife in my hand, icing all over my hands and a crazy look on my face. I look like I'm murdering someone not cutting a cake icon_redface.gif But that cake had to die, I was starving lol.

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jennifercullen Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 9:31pm
post #21 of 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by LNW

But that cake had to die




Haha. It is its destiny, which must be fulfilled!

Ellie1985 its weird isn't it how we put all that effort in, yet were the ones who don't mind destroying it lol. I do have to admit I sometimes have to look away when cutting body part cakes... that's weird! I happen to take great joy in cutting it into bits...

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Ellie1985 Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 9:45pm
post #22 of 36

There's been a couple that I was a little sad to cut into. But as Jennifer said.... it is the cake's destiny!!!! LOL

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theresaf Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 11:00pm
post #23 of 36

Your cake was very cute! Great job! I'm a hobby baker and once I put the work in, and it gets to its destination I don't care what happens to it. Want to eat the bottom first - have at it! But for Christmas Eve I made a 1970's fireplace like my dad used to make out of spare wood and fireplace paper with my mom, dad and all our stockings on it, My mom's no longer with us so it wound up being a very sentimental cake. My sister screamed "Don't cut it!" when I raised a knife to it. Only one of my brothers and I had a piece and no one could bear to eat it, only look at it. But everyone loved looking at it and took pictures so I'm good with that! Enjoy the compliments and don't sweat the rest!

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Herekittykitty Posted 5 Jan 2012 , 11:35pm
post #24 of 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosie2

I know how you feel...I made christmas cookies for my co-workers last month.They are the vintage cookies in my gallery...came to find out that no one (!) eat the cookies, they still have them at their desks on display!! ----they said they're too pretty icon_sad.gif




Rosie, I'm not going to lie, I probably wouldn't have eaten mine either, those are just stunning; particuarily with the dimentional details you added.

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Annabakescakes Posted 6 Jan 2012 , 5:13am
post #25 of 36

I did a Barbie cake about ten years ago that was probably quite crappy, now that I look back. The family I made it for refused to cut it and just stuck it in the freezer to admire, lol. They were my neighbors so when the cake started weeping they gave me the third degree!

About 7 months after I made it I heard this little twit telling another girl that the cake I made for Crystal was dry. I asked "what cake?" and she said the doll. I mentioned they froze it and she said, no, it was eaten and it was dry. So I asked when it was eaten, and she said, last week!!! So it was frozen, uncovered, next to the fish sticks and tater tots because it was too pretty, then they ate it after it was freezer burned!
Yum!

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cocobean Posted 6 Jan 2012 , 6:31am
post #26 of 36

I've heard, "it's too cute or pretty to cut" one to many times, so I actually started a business called CounterFitCakes, these cakes ARE ALL for the purpose of displaying in your kitchen, bedroom, living room, etc. forever, if you would like!! They are on pretty pedestals and covered with glass domes so that dusting is not a problem.

I still make and eat REAL cakes as well.

I Love having CounterFitCakes in my own house. Some people just like to look at pretty cakes. I admit I am one of them! hehehe Here is a link to some that I have done.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.141062492603104.22811.141037845938902&type=3

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Annabakescakes Posted 6 Jan 2012 , 7:14am
post #27 of 36

Brilliant! What do you use? Just fondant? Do you preserve them somehow?

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CupcakeMum Posted 6 Jan 2012 , 7:58am
post #28 of 36

I made a 2 tier engagement cake, all choc mud, for an aquaintance and I was really keen after her party to know how the cake tasted as I had used a new recipe. She said many people (particulary the older relatives ) wanted a piece and were hovering around it, but she wouldnt let them cut it "as it is way too beautiful" and she still had it intact on her kitchen bench. Two weeks later she let her mum cut it and apparently it was still good! I felt quite disappointed - then came the order for her wedding cake, "oh dont make any of it cake, cause I wont let them cut that up either" so a foam cake was made and she has it in her house as a dust collector I gather! Yeah maybe we should make ugly cakes then they will eat them!!!! icon_rolleyes.gif

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cocobean Posted 6 Jan 2012 , 1:40pm
post #29 of 36

Thanks Annabakes cakes, I just use Wilton fondant over styrofoam rounds on my (CounterFitCakes), thats all you need. The glass dome helps protect and preserve the cake and I think even the colors. A few of those cakes are two years old and they still look great!

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chelleb1974 Posted 6 Jan 2012 , 3:00pm
post #30 of 36

I've heard "It's too pretty to cut" more times than I can count. My reply is "Cake is meant to be eaten", lol. I, too, end up cutting the cakes at functions I'm at, because no one else can bear to do it. I tell them to take pictures cause it's getting cut and served.

~Chelle

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